Patients who suffer from anxiety and depression are more likely to report worse results after a hip replacement. A year-long wait for the operation also entails significant costs to both society and the individual, reveals a new thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Drawing on around 40,000 responses from patients selected from the Swedish Hip Arthroplasty Register, the thesis looks at how hip replacement patients perceive their health-related quality of life and level of pain both before and after the operation, as well as how satisfied they are with the results.
"Although the majority report a considerable improvement in their health-related quality of life and are pain-free after their hip replacement, we show that around 5-10% do not improve or have actually deteriorated one year after the operation," says Ola Rolfson, researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy's Department of Orthopaedics.
He explains that there are several reasons for the failure of some patients to get better in the short term. For example, patients with anxiety or depression are more likely to report worse results. However, more research is needed to understand the factors that affect post-operative outcomes.